How do I handle a tenant who won't pay the utilities?

When my husband found out he was deploying we wanted to find a tenant to live in our 3 bedroom house for the duration of time we would be away from home. We had a friend going thru hard times and thought we could help by offering her a place to stay and asked her if she wanted to live in the house rent free and only pay the basics-Water, Electric and internet(If she choose to keep the internet on, which she did.) She was alone so we also asked if she wanted to keep one of our dogs as company, which she very much did. Fast forward 3 months, she has only made 2 electric payments and nothing else. The water has been shut off. I am 12 hrs away and unsure how to precede. I do have a contract we did beforehand.. What is my best course of action at this point?

What does the contract say? If you don't want to read the contract, send it to an attorney for review. This document will have a significant impact on the advice you are given. If you want to evict her, go through magistrates court.

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